ORLANDO, Fla.–Dr. Barry Asmus, a well-known free-market economist, is giving the thumbs up to the recent changes in mark-to-market accounting rules by FASB, “I like mark to market, but not when there is no market to mark to,” Asmus told PSCU’s annual meeting here. “Mark to market makes no sense. I can’t tell you how I’m breathing a little easier having this asinine rule revoked. Mark to market was the biggest liquidity bubble on earth.”
Meanwhile, Asmus believes the current recession will hit its floor in 2009 and begin to recover in 2010. “But we do have the unstoppable trend of government mistakes,” he suggested. “Of all times, this is not the time to target the rich and raise taxes.
As for credit unions, he sees strong opportunities in the current economy. “This is an interesting time for credit unions,” he said. “If your largest competitor is banks, you must ask what it is that has made you different from day one. No. 1, it is the principle that everyone is in this together. You are a ‘member.’ Service is your competitive edge; what about leveraging your members to be better spokespersons for you? What an opportunity to say what you’re all about. This is the time to get marketshare like you’ve never gotten before. There is a lot of mistrust of financial institutions that are ‘too big too fail.’ It’s in these times where we really create something.”
